Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus Vasudevan and Dutta, 2000

Biju, S. D., Kamei, Rachunliu G., Mahony, Stephen, Thomas, Ashish, Garg, Sonali, Sircar, Gargi & Suyesh, Robin, 2013, Taxonomic review of the tree frog genus Rhacophorus from the Western Ghats, India (Anura: Rhacophoridae), with description of ontogenetic colour changes and reproductive behaviour, Zootaxa 3636 (2), pp. 257-289 : 280-282

Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus Vasudevan and Dutta, 2000

Anaimalai Flying Frog (Daniels 2005)

( Figures 1C , 2D , 3H , 6D , 9A–G ; Tables 1–3)

Original name and description. Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus Vasudevan and Dutta, 2000 , A new species of Rhacophorus ( Anura : Rhacophoridae ) from the Western Ghats, India, Hamadryad, 25:23. Name-bearing types. Holotype, BNHS (BNHM) 3095, by original designation, an adult female; Paratypes, ZSI/SRS VA/ 1078–79. Type locality. Andiparai Shola, (Valparai), Tamil Nadu, India. Current status of specific name. Valid name, as Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus Vasudevan and Dutta, 2000 .

Other material studied/observed. KERALA: Idukki district, Kadalar, SDBDU 2011.1010 (adult male), collected by SDB on 22 September 2011; Palakkad district, Poopara, Parambikulam, SDBDU 2011.1422 (adult male), collected by SDB, RGK, AT, SG, RS & GS on 13 August 2011. TAMIL NADU: Coimbatore district, Valparai, SDBDU 1162–1165 (four adult males) and SDBDU 1160, SDBDU 1166 (two adult female), collected by SDB on 11 July 2002, ZSI/SRS VA 1078 (paratype, adult male), Andiparai Shola, BNHS 3095 (holotype, adult female), collected by K. Vasudevan on 23 January 1998, ZSI/SRS VA 1078 (paratype, adult male), collected by K. Vasudevan on 24 July 1998, WII 514 (paratype, adult male), collected by K. Vasudevan on 10 October 1998.

Diagnosis. Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus can be distinguished from known congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) large male adult size (SVL 47.2–53.6 mm); (2) green dorsal colour with light yellow webbing between fingers and toes in life; (3) finger webbing extensive, reaching beyond distal subarticular tubercle on inner side and base of disc in outer side of finger III; (4) thick dermal fringe from base of pad of toe V extends along lateral edge of tarsus to heel where it develops into broad flange with lateral projecting calcar on outer edge of heel; and (5) toe webbing extensive, reaching distal subarticular tubercle on either side of toe IV ( Figure 9F, G ).

Comparison. Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus is unique by its uniform green colouration of dorsum with venation-like light grey lines in life. However, this species could be confused with Rhacophorus malabaricus due to comparable size in preservation. For differences with R. malabaricus , see ‘comparison’ of that species.

Description of holotype. A detailed general description was published in Vasudevan and Dutta (2000).

Variation. Measurements of three female, including holotype and six male specimens, are given in Table 2. No considerable variation in breeding and non breeding colour.

Distribution and natural history. This species is currently reported from Kadalar, Poopara in Kerala and Andiparai Shola, Puduthottam in Tamil Nadu ( Figure 6D ; Table 1). It is a high-altitude species found at ca. 955–1430 m asl. The Poopara specimen was located on a leaf at ca. 2 m above ground along a trek path in secondary forests on the fringe of abandoned cardamom plantations. The Kadalar specimen was located on a stem ca. 1.5 m above ground in a marshy area beside a perennial stream outside KFDC’s cardamom plantation. During breeding season the species is known to aggregate at artificial ponds (Vasudevan & Dutta 2000) and on vegetation overhanging marshy areas, ponds and streams. All collections in the present study were made between 18:00 to 20:00 hours.

Species Voucher specimen Locality Accession number Source of sequences retrieved from GenBank. a. Bossuyt & Milinkovitch (2000), b. Hasan et al. (2012), NCBI, Genbank, unpublished, c. Delmore (2004), d. Meenakshi et al. (2009), NCBI, Genbank, unpublished.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A – G. Leaf nest types and multimale mating in the Western Ghats Rhacophorus. A – C. Leaf nest types. A. Type 1: Single leaf rolling— Rhacophorus lateralis; B – C. Type 2: Multiple leaves nest— R. calcadensis, R. malabaricus, R. pseudomalabaricus; D – G. Multimale mating. D – E. R. lateralis on vegetation. F. R. malabaricus on vegetation. G. R. malabaricus on ground.

FIGURE 2. A – D. Photographs showing colour and marking of juveniles and adults in the Western Ghats Rhacophorus. A. R. calcadensis; B. R. lateralis; C. R. malabaricus; D. R. pseudomalabaricus.

FIGURE 3. A – H. Rhacophorus of the Western Ghats. A – B. R. calcadensis; C – E. R. lateralis; F – G. R. malabaricus; H. R. pseudomalabaricus.

FIGURE 6. A – D. Distribution maps of the four Rhacophorus species in the Western Ghats. A. R. calcadensis; B. R. lateralis; C. R. malabaricus; and D. R. pseudomalabaricus. Positioning of symbols is approximate; see Table 1 for coordinates.

FIGURE 9. A – G. Holotype of Rhacophorus pseudomalabaricus (BNHS 3095), from Andiparai Shola: A. dorsal view; B. ventral view; C. lateral view of head; D. ventral view of hand; E. schematic illustration of webbing on hand; F. ventral view of foot; G. schematic illustration of webbing on foot.